a collection: part 3

i wanted to share another one of my collections today. my mortars & pestles. It all started when i was given my great grandmother's mortar and pestles. its the brass one on the right. It was one of the few things she brought from sweden and she used it on Cottage Farm. now i use it ~

the others have been picked up along the way. I really love the coors brand of M&Ps. their body types are all slightly different and with different weights, they can nest inside of one another (im always a sucker for that) and i love the crisp white exterior.

the wee one came from the lovely HarmoniePark on etsy.

enjoy!

Simple Sundays

not in frame

ive been to enough auctions in my life to know its not always whats in the frame that matters. sometimes its simply the frame itself.

In amsterdam this summer while strolling through the rijksmuseum, i found myself captivated but in some instances it was by the sheer beauty and intricacies of the frames around the old paintings. Delicate, detailed, elegant and telling a story all on their own.

Ive been seeing a few photos around the blog world of just frames - hanging on the wall. no need to fill them just simply allowing them to be seen, to be admired and appreciated - and i think thats simply lovely.

imagine the combinations you could create -

i found these two very old and very beautiful frames and they are in the shop now waiting to grace someone's walls ~

images: greigedesign, anthropologie, unknown, lobster&swan, flickr, cottagefarm

get your wobble on

im having a little love affair right now ...with these beautiful gelatin moulds. this is not the jello you remember

- ok it is sort of but its sophisticated and looks well good enough to eat! gelatin and aspic moulds have fallen a bit of out of favor but they used to be a crowing achievement to any meal and elaborate moulds were made to produce them. I love these little salt glazed fish molds made from something called flummery or sweet cream.

The history of these lovelies is actually quite interesting. to nerd out go here

I first became interested in this idea when i found this mould in one of my thrifting excursions. Here are a few other vintage moulds on etsy.

ethanollie anoddlittleparty

Moulds have been made for a long time and in many many different types of materials, some of you may be used to seeing the ceramic or tin moulds, but ive been thinking about making them more than just a vaseThe glass moulds were used mainly in the 1920's and 30's.

yellowgoatdesign

I want to have a Jelly Party - all on pretty cake stands in different glossy colors. think im gonna try this recipe i found on apartment therapy...rumor is they can even be made with a little vodka or champagne. care to join me??

unless otherwise noted all images curtsey of marth stewart living

today i wish i to wear this -

perhaps its inspired by my rainy sunday at the beach or perhaps its inspired by the amazing old pair of tall bean boots i scored that are now staring at me longingly from the closet - but i wish it was cold enough or rainy enough today to necessitate wearing an outfit like this -

scrunch down the socks, roll up the sweater cuffs so a little blue peeks out ......might even chop some wood after

boots llbean, jeans madewell, socks etsy: legyviel, shirt jcrew, scarf etsy: scarfguy, sweater urbanoutfitters

outings: pelican inn and muir beach

i spent my misty wet sunday at the beach. I did a hike of the costal fire road and surrounding area in and around muir beach. It was a pleasant temperature but very very wet. After 4 hours hiking we decided to take a bit of cover at the Pelican Inn. Its the most charming little english inn nestled at the entrance to the beach. You really feel as though you have been transported back 100 years an to england.

We cozied up in a corner next to dark panels and tapestried benches and ordered beers and the most delicious beef stew and a cheese plate. its was heaven.

We stayed for hours it continued being wet outside and yet was incredibly bright which made the ambiance inside even more welcoming. Once we dried off a bit and were warmed by the good food, spirits and company we were off again. Spend the afternoon romping on the beach and making little collages out of our findings.

Friday Finds

i had a busy friday! but i enjoyed every minute of it. i love estate sales, but sometimes they are bitter sweet for me - standing in the ashes of someone else life. My favorite finds from this one are the vintage hats. I tried them all on when i got home. I imagine the woman was french, and i hope she was laughing at me awkwardly trying on all her hats and pussing for the mirror. one thing i will say, she and i shared similar tastes. I was told she cooked sunday dinner for her family of about 50! every sunday.....

hope your weekend is filled with imagination and bliss.

xo

Comfort

fall lust

so ive just finished drooling over the fall 2010 anthropologie catalogue. im loving all the deep, rich fall colors with an english countryside/equestrian bent....did i mention the drooling.

not only are the fabrics and clothes stunning. i feel like i am experiencing the texture of the heavy woolen fall fabrics. but the photographs go above and beyond i feel like ive walked into a whole little world in these 60 odd virtual pages. go have a look, ive even ordered a hard copy. i foresee some long term inspiration coming from these pages

a collection. part 2

the smallest and newest of my collections- bird pitchers. they were mostly made during and just after WW2 in japan and many were brought state-side after the war. I love their whimsy.

I use the yellow one for sunday breakfast. its perfect for milk for coffees. I sorta hate having a milk carton on the table -

I see these often, but they are usually between 40-100$. thats why i only have two - i only buy them when i love them and they are a good price.

hope you love em too!

the caulfield collection. inspiration

today i wanted to share a bit more about the collections i have been putting together in the shop. The Caulfield Collection was released a few weeks ago to tremendous feed back! im so glad every one is enjoying it. I wanted to share a little more about my inspiration for this collection, which will be running until early spring. so w. out further ado

- handsome isnt he?

jd salinger's character holden caulfield is the inspiration for this collection, but this is what i imagine him to be like, though slightly older, in real life. Meet Zach Motl.

some of you may remember him from this article in the NYTs H&G section a while back. I have not been able to get his inspiring space out of my head. and so it became a spring board for the Caulfield Colleciton.

i have such a penchance for this type of boyishly minded american design. and i hope you love it or find something to love in it too!!

simple sundays

i would like to curl up here and stay a while.

this simple sunday is brought to you by finelittleday.

Karl and Ester - Farmhouse chic

recently ive been really drawn to very simple things, im usually pretty casual in my all around philosophy but ive been even more aware of textures, natural colors and patinas. I cant help but think that im channeling the scandinavian roots of my great grand-parents, Karl and Ester, who's farm the shop is named after

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They emigrated from Sweden around the turn of the century and lived in an adorable but very utilitarian farmhouse. Ive had my eye on a lot of farmhouse items with a scandinavian bent recently...here a little sneak peek of whats coming to the shop soon!